Thousands join March for Life in London

Pro-lifers took to the streets of London on Saturday for the March for Life UK, the first time the march has come to the British capital.

American singer Joy Villa led the march through Trafalgar Square to Parliament Square, where Clare McCullough of the Good Counsel Network addressed the crowd and denounced the decision by Ealing Council to set up a so-called “buffer zone” around an abortion clinic.

A small counter-demonstration greeted the march at Parliament Square, but the event passed without incident.

Bishop John Keenan of Paisley and Bishop John Wilson, an auxiliary of Westminster, also addressed the marchers. Bishop Keenan urged pro-lifers to consider going into public life, but warned they would face significant challenges.

“You have no idea of the galvanising effect your courage will have if you stand up before the British media courageously, even under attack, and be pro-life. You’re setting the seeds of the next generation,” the bishop said.

“We will win this battle by truth, but we will win it even more by courage.”

The UK March for Life takes place each year around the time that that 1967 Abortion Act came into effect. The march started in 2012 as an initiative of a small group of pro-life activists in Birmingham. The annual event grew so much that organisers decided to move it to London for the first time this year.

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